Type slug low slugger



y 1945- c. w. CURLE ET AL TYPE SLUG LOW SLUGGER Filed Oct. 31, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l s r 5 W5 N Tee e N ua Win 1 aw w s 0 s EMF o x H r 0 Patented May 1, 1945 TYPE SLUGLOW SLUGGER Charles W. Curle, San Francisco, Theodore C. Curle, Ross, and Ray F. Newton, San Francisco,

Calif.

Application October 31, 1941 Serial No. 417,347

7 Claims.

The present invention relates'to a machine for low slugging type slugs and particularly to a machine for efiecting low slugging automatically as the slug passes through a channel or chute after it has been discharged from the line casting machine in which it is formed.

Slugs issuing from a line casting machine have type character's formed along their upper edges.

The type thus formed is arranged in groups often spaced apart or from the ends of the slug, exposing flat areas of the slug Of considerable length.

When these flat areas exceed a given length they permit bulging of the paper during printing and thus often cause ofisetting r smudging of that portion of the paper which should remain unprinted. It is customary therefore to cut away the slug in the long spaces between type to insure against offsetting thereby during printing. As the slugs issue in rapid succession from the line casting machine, it is desirable to accom plish this cutting away, or low slugging; as it is termed, rapidly and by a machine which is controlled automatically by the passage'of the slug itself to cut the proper portions.

It is the object therefore of the present invention to provide a machine to effect accurate and eflicient low slugging controlled automatically by the type slug being out;

A further object is the provision in such a machine of an improved trip mechanism actuated by engagement of type on the slug to advance and retract the cutter and to provide a delay mechanism for preventing advancing of the cutter after the type passes the trip but before it passes the cutter.

A furher object of the invention is the provision of a novel time delay mechanism for interposition between two mechanical movements.

Still further objects are the provision in a low slugger of novel means for adjusting the depth of its out and. means controllable by hand for ren-. dering the cutter inoperative.

One form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and further of its objects and advantages are made apparent in the followdetailed reference is ing specification wherein made to the drawings.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a. vertical section on line I-I of Fig. 3,

. of a machine embodying the present invention,

the pivoted armature shown in Fig. 3 being removed to expose other mechanism; I

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the control mechanism shown in Fig. 1, with some of the parts removed and'some broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line III-III of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

The low Sl ggerof the present invention is illustrated in'the drawings as contained in a housin I0 which is rigidlysupported by means not shown over a chute I I down which the slugs pass after they leave the line casting machine, and preferably after they have been subjected to a side trimming operation. I2 as being urged downwardly through the chute I I by a pusher I3. The construction of the chute I I and manner of operation of the pusher I3 which advances the slug through it are clearly set forth in our co-pending application entitled Type slug side trimmer, filed October 31, 1941, Serial No. 417,346.

A rotary cutter I4 intercepts and cuts away the upper edge of the slug I2 as it is advanced down the chute, and continues this ging until it approaches the type which projects upwardly from the slug as shown at I5. At this time a roller I6 carried by a trip bar II engages and is raised by the type to swing the trip bar upwardly and actuate the mechanism which re- I The cutter remains retracted of its cutting edge so that the final cut serves to eliminate that portion of the slug indicated-by I the dotted line I8.

The cutter I4 which is the housing Ill. The shaft 20 i slidably mounted in a tubular shaft 22 and keyed against rotation therein by a pair of keys 23 which project from the shaft 2|! into slots 24 in the lower end I of the tubular shaft to serve as sliding keyways and thus permit retraction of the shaft 20 while I it rotates. The lower end of the tubular shaft is journalled in a bearing 25 and the upper end of the cutter shaft 20 is journalled in a bearing 26.

This upper bearing is supported in a sleeve 21 which is slidably mounted in a lug 28 formed interiorly of the housing It and bored forthe re-.

ception of the sleeve. A nut 29 retains the bearing 26 on the shaft and holds it against a collar 3i) which rests against a shoulder on the shaft,

asshown. A spring 3| disposed between the upper end ,of the tubular shaft 22 and the collar 30 "urges the cutter shaft 20 together with its bearing assembly and the sleeve 21 toward its re- One such slug is shownat cutting or low slugp cup-shaped is mounted I on the ,end of a shaft 20 and enclosed, exceptjfor I its forward edge, by a guard 2I depending from fiuence of the sprin 35.

tracted position. Retraction under influence of the spring 3| is however limited by a screw 32 the head of which engages in a slot formed in a tion on the shaft is fixed by a pair of pins 35 projecting from the shaft and shouldered at'their outer ends to form stops for the hub of the gear. A sleeve 36 which projects from the housingof the bearing 25 extends to a point between the inner threaded surface of the gear and a reduced portion of the shaft 22. the exterior of the sleeve and the threads on the interior of the gear is very small so that any lubricant tending to escape from within the housing toward the bearing 25 is worked back by the action of the threads during rotation of the gear around the sleeve. Likewise the upper end of the shaft 22 is threaded and extends into thesleeve 27 with the same result in preventing the loss of lubricant along the shaft 20.

Normally the cutter is held in its advanced or down position by the screw 32, the lower end of which is threaded through a cylindrical nut 38 in the free end of a lever 39, the opposite end of which ispivotally supported by a shoulder screw to. The lever so is latched in its down position by a control cam H (see Fig. 2) which is mounted on a shaft 42 through the medium of roller bearings 43 which permit relative rotary movement of the shaft and cam. The normalposition of the cam M is that illustrated in Fig; 2 with its lower end retaining the lever 39 down.

Movement of the cam in a counterclockwise di rection about the center of the shaft d2 causes a cam shoulder M on the cam to pass a cam shoulder 45 on the lever. This permits the lever and the cutter assembly to move upwardly under in- Clockwise movement of the cam returns it to the position illustrated and swings the lever 39 downwardly through the action of the cam shoulders 4G and 45. Thus through the screw 32 which serves as a connect-- ing link. the cutter is returned to its cutting position.

The depth of cut may be regulated by adjustment of the screw in its threaded connection with the nut 38. In order to hold the screw against accidental rotation away from its adjusted. position the under side of its head is bevelled as at Q8 on two sides which rest againstcomplementary bevels 39 on the sides of the slot in which it is retained. Consequently the. screw may be rotated and retained by spring pressure in positions 180 apart. By this means the depth of cut made by the cutter can be set at increments equal to one half the pitch of the thread onthe screw 32. A removable plate 58 on the housing I provides access to the head of the screw for effecting adjustment thereof.

As the slug [2 approaches the cutter which is normally advanced its forward edge is cut away as shown in Fig. 1. When the raised type l engages the trip bar 56 the latter is swung about its pivotal support 52 to lower its outer end 53 54 carried thereby. This and an adjusting'screw screw engages the actuating pin 56 of a micro switch generally indicated at 51. The switch, which is of conventional construction held open by a spring 58 which engages and urges a tail 59 of the trip bar l1 upwardly. When the trip bar rides up on the type and therefore not illustrated in detail herein, is normally I5 the switch is perxwardly a lever 65 which, as shown in Fig. 1, is

The clearance betweenpivoted on the shoulder screw 40. A link 66 is connected by a pin and slot 61 at its lower end to the lever 65 and .by a pin 68 to a pawl 69 (see Figs. 1 and 2) at its upper end. The pawl 69' is pivoted at 10 and urged downwardly by a spring 1| into latching engagement with a shoulder 72 formed on the upper end of the control cam 4!.

Through these connections energization of the electromagnet, which occurs upon raising of the by a pin 74 to the trip bar I1 when it is engaged bythe type on the slug, permits the control cam 4| to swing in a counterclockwise direction to effect retraction of the cutter to a position where the slug can pass belowit without injury to the-type face. i A con.- tractile spring 13, shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is fixed control cam and by a pin 75 to the housing and urges the cam to move in a counterclockwise direction when it is releasedby the pawl 69. This movement of the cam islimited by a stop lug 16 which is cast integrally with the wall of the housing 10. l

After the type IE on the slug passes from-beneath the trip bar I! the cutter must'be advanced to its cutting position by clockwise movement of the control cam. This return of the cutter must however be delayed until a position where it will advancing cutter. turn of the control cam 4| it carries a pawl 18 pivoted to it by a pin 19 and engageable with a ratchet disc 80 which is fixed to the end of the shaft 42 and continuously rotated thereby at a relatively slow rate of speed by drive mechanism hereinafter described. The pawl 18 is urged toward engagement with the'ratchet disc by a spring 8i but normally retained out 'of such engagement by an elevator lever 82. urged upwardly by a stronger spring 83 into contact with a pin 84 projecting forwardly from the side of the pawl. V shoulder screw 40 and has a tail 8-5 which stops against the pin 75. I c The pawl 18 is also connected by a link 86 with the'lever 65 through the pin 84 at the upper end of the link and a pin and slot connectionBl at its lower end. Through this latter connection the pawl is positively held in its raised, position when the link 65 swings upwardly, and the pin 87 at the lower endof link 86 is brought into axial alignment with the shaft 42 upon which the control cam rocks sothat rocking of the cam does not in itself alter the position of the pawl, Now assuming released and to have moved counterclockise to its position of rest against the stop 76, in which position the cutter is retracted; the pawl clear of the rotating ratchet only bythe link- 86,

the type has cleared to not be engaged bythe When the trip bar leaves vthe'type the magnet In order to effect delayedre- This elevator lever 82 pivots on the the control cam to have been 18 is held ratchet disc is, however, sufficiently slow to effect advancement of the cutter only after the slug has moved suiiicient distance safely to clear the type I5.

During the final portion of the return movement of the control cam, a tail 90 on the pawl 18 engages a stop lug SI and throws the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet disc. At this time the pin 84 on the pawl has come into engagement with the elevator lever 82 which holds the pawl away from the ratchet teeth. The control cam is again retained against counterclockwise movement by the epring pressed pawl 69.

It is desirable in some instances to eliminate the low slugging operation on the slugs which are passing through the chute I I. Means are therefore provided to retract and-retain the cutter in its retracted position by hand, These means comprise a plunger 93 extending through the housing and fitted with a knob 93' end of the plunger is connectedwith a link 94 which is in turn connected by a pin and slot 95 with the lever 65. This makes it possible to raise the lever 65 by hand and thus retract the cutter I by release of the control cam in themanner described above. The plunger 93 carries a spring clip 96 which acts as a detent with a collar 91, on a stationary tube 98 through which the plunger slides, to retain the plunger in either its raised or lowered position.

The drive and power transmission for the mechanisms herein described are illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Power from a suitable source is received by a bevel gear housing and transmitted by a shaft (not shown) which extends through a bearing box IOI to a main drive gear I02 fixed to the inner end of the shaft. The gear I02 meshes with an intermediate gear I03 pinned to a counter shaft I04 mounted for rotation in bearings I05 and I06. The. gear I03 meshes with the gear 34 (see also Fig. 1) which drives the cutter shaft. To drive the ratchet disc 80 which returnsthe cutter control cam with delayed action, the counter shaft I04 carries a worm I08 which meshes with a worm gear I09, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 and also shown in Fig. 3, as keyed to a shaft IIO' which rotates in bearings III and H2. This shaft III! also carries a small gear II3 meshing with a larger gear II4 which is keyed to and drives the shaft 42 which rotates in bearings H5 and H6 and which, as previously described, carries the ratchet disc 80 at its end. The reduction effected by the worm and worm gear together with the gears II3 and H4 times the ratchet disc at the speed required to effect the necessary time delay in returning the cutter to its advanced position after the trip bar has left the type and opened the circuit to the electromagnet.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a low slugger for type slugs, a cutter, resilient means urging the cutter to retracted position, latch means normally latching the cutter in advanced position, and trip means in advance of the cutter and engageable by type on the slug to release said latch means, said, trip means including a switch, an electromagnet controlled thereby and a time delay mechanism by means of which it may be reciprocatedby hand. The lower,

I00 disposed exteriorly of the terception of the type by the cutter.

2. In a low slugger for type slugs, 'a cutter, resilient means urging the cutter to retracted position, latch means normally latching the cutter in advanced position, trip means in advance of the cutter and engageable by type on the slug to release said latch means, and means operating with delayed action to advance the cutter and re-latch it upon the type passing the trip means.

3. In a low slugger for type slugs, a cutter, resilient means urging the cutter to retracted position, latch means normally latching the cutter in advanced position, trip means in advance of the cutter and engageable by type on the slug to release said latch means, said trip means in-, cluding a switch and a electromagnet controlled thereby, and means including a mechanical time delay mechanism for advancing the cutter when the type passes the trip means.

4. In a low slugger for type slugs, a cutter, means including a control cam for latching the cutter in advanced position, means urging the cutter to a retracted position, means for releasing the latch and moving the cam to permit retraction of the cutter, and a delayed action mechanism operable by type on a slug for returning the cam to advance the cutter and relatch it in its advanced position.

5. In a low slugger for type slugs, a cutter, means including a control cam for latching the cutter in advanced position, means urging the cutter to a retracted position, means for releasing the latch and moving the cam to permit retraction of the cutter, and a delayed action mechanism, including a slowly rotating ratchet disc and a pawl carried by the cam and engageable with the ratchet disc, for returning the cam to advance the cutter and re-latch it in its advanced position. l I

6. A time delay mechanism for a low slugging machine or the like, comprising a control cam mounted to rock on a pivot, a ratchet disc rotata'ble on an axis concentric with said 'pivot, means to latch the control cam in normal position, means to release the latch and rock the cam about its pivot, a pawl carried by the control cam and engageable with the ratchet disc only when the cam has been rocked from normal position, and means to rotate the ratchet disc for returning the cam to normal in a predetermined time.

7. A time delay mechanism for a low slugging machine or the like, comprising a control cam mounted to rock on a pivot, a ratchet disc rotatable on an axis concentric with said pivot, means to latch the control cam in normal position, means to release the latch and rock the cam about its pivot, a pawl carried by the control cam and engageable with the ratchet disc only when the cam has been rocked from normal position, means to rotate the ratchet disc for returning the camto normal in a predetermined time, and means for releasing the pawl and relatching the to normal.

CHARLES W. CURLE. THEODORE C. CURLE. RAY F. NEWTON.

6 I .controlled by the electromagnet to preventv in- I control cam uponreturn of the cam 

